Somukazu wa izure no yo ni ka meguriaite omoikeri tomo hito ni shiraren - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

背かずはいづれの世にかめぐり逢ひて
思ひけりとも人に知られん

Roma-ji: Somukazu wa izure no yo ni ka meguriaite omoikeri tomo hito ni shiraren
English Translation: Unless I turn away,
in what world, then, could we two
meet again someday,
and could you come to know
that I did care for you?
Meaning: If I did not turn from the world, in what life could we meet again, and how could you ever know that I truly cared for you?
Commentary: Book Twenty Buddhist Poems 1957

Headnote: "Casting off obligations, one enters the unconditioned."
This is the seventh poem in the sequence of poems from the Hundred Poems on Buddhist Texts by Jakuzen and others. Unless I turn my back on the world, in which life could we meet again and you come to know that I cared for you? According to the headnote, it was composed on the meaning of "Casting off obligations, one enters the unconditioned."
Taking vows and severing the bonds of love for one's parents may seem a betrayal of their kindness, but gaining awakening and saving them in a later life is the true repayment; the poem voices this teaching as love for the one to whom one owes such kindness.
The author, "Jakuzen Hōshi," whose lay name was Fujiwara no Yorinari, was a son of Fujiwara no Tametada. With his elder brothers Jakunen and Jakuchō he lived in retirement at Ōhara, and the three were called the Three Jaku of Ōhara. He was a close friend of Saigyō.
"Casting off obligations, one enters the unconditioned" is one line of the verse recited when taking vows: "Wandering in the three realms, one cannot sever the bonds of love; casting off obligations, one enters the unconditioned, and this is the true repayment of kindness." It teaches that abandoning such bonds to enter the Buddha's Way is the true repayment of kindness.

The first line, "somukazu wa," means "if I do not turn away from the world," a hypothetical condition formed by the negative "zu" with "wa." "Somuku" means to take vows.
The second line, "izure no yo ni ka," is a rhetorical question with the particle "ka": in which life? It asks only to deny.
The third line, "meguriaite," is meeting again in a later life, and has extra syllables.
The fourth line, "omoikeri tomo," means "that I did care for you," revealing the true intent of taking vows.
The last line, "hito ni shiraren," closes the kakari-musubi of "ka" with the attributive "n": could you ever come to know it? No. It shows the paradoxical heart that takes vows, seeming to abandon the one to whom it owes kindness, precisely out of love for that person.
Author: Jakuzen
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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